377.3\ 

MIBc 


oWcYoWc^WcYDWcrDWcYt)' 


CHICAGO 

J-fer  Higloru  and 
her  Adornment 

bv  Mabel  Mcllvaine 


^M^m^m^M 


It. 


* 


u 


L  I  B  RAR.Y 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

Of    ILLINOIS 

cop.  2. 


ILL  HIST.  SL 


CHICAGO 

J£er  ^History  and 
ZHer  ^Adornment 

by 
tMabel  tMcIhaine 


Illustrations  sketched  from  figurines  and 
relics  of  The  Chicago  Historical  Society 


Compliments  of 

C.     D.     PEACOCK 

Chicago 


Copyrighted  1927  by  C    D.  PEACOCK,  Ino. 


Original  Americans 


CHICAGO,      HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


HE  jewels  of  a  woman  and  the  courage  of  a 
man  accomplished  the  discovery  of  America. 
Once  discovered,  some  one  had  to  "hold 
down  the  ground. "  To  this  task  the  father- 
in-law,  and  we  trust  the  mother-in-law,  of  Columbus 
addressed  themselves,  setting  up  a  homestead  on  the 
island  of  San  Domingo. 

The  doors  of  that  dwelling  are  now  in  Chicago  at 
the  heart  of  the  continent  (preserved  in  the  Chicago 
Historical  Society)  and  strange  to  say  it  was  a  native 
of  that  same  island  of  San  Domingo  who  essayed  the 
task  of  "holding  down  the  ground"  in  Chicago.  Here 
he  lodged  at  the  head  of  the  sand  spit  that  jutted  out 
from  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  built  him  a  cabin,  and 
set  up  business  as  a  fur  trader  about  the  year  1779.  His 
name,  very  appropriately,  was  Jean  Baptiste  Point  du 
Sable,  or  "Sandy  Point."  It  is  said  that  he  was  tall  and 
handsome,  if  somewhat  dusky  of  skin. 

Now  there  were  footprints  on  those  sands  before  this 
Sheik  of  Sandy  Point  arrived.  Who  shall  number  those 
moccasin-clad  feet  that  had  softly  trodden  those  trails 
leading  to  this  meeting  place  of  the  waters — the  water- 
shed of  the  continent — or  count  the  canoes  that  had 
slipped  silently  through  the  Chicago  River  toward  the 
;  setting  sun? 

There  were  other  passers-by — many  of  them — gentle 
Marquette  and  sturdy  Joliet  in  1673-4,  mapping  the 
waters  as  they  went,  toiling  across  the  portage,  winter- 
ing in  its  vicinity,  messengers  of  peace  and  good-will — 
La  Salle,  that  great  business  man,  passing  to  and  from 

[3] 


Spanish  Jewels 
and  a  San 
Domingo  domicile 


A  San  Domingan 
and  Chicago's 
"Early  Colonial' 
period 


Where  trails  and 
waters  meet 


The  French 
Voyageurs 


CHICAGO 


HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


Under  Three 
Flags 


Fort  Dearborn 
founded,  1803 


Our  First 

Community 

Center 


his  colony  on  the  Illinois  in  1679-83,  discerning  its  possi- 
bilities, pausing  at  "Checagou"  on  September  1,  1683, 
to  address  a  letter  to  Tonty  of  the  iron  hand  at  Starved 
Rock,  bidding  him  to  hold  the  fort  while  he  betook 
himself  to  France'on  an  errand  of  publicity  and  promo- 
tion. 

The  King  of  France  did  not  grasp  his  opportunity 
in  America  quite  as  firmly  as  did  the  King  of  England. 
Even  after  the  Revolution  the  latter  was  maneuvering 
for  empire  in  the  West.  Control  of  the  waterways  was 
essential,  and  Mad  Anthony  Wayne,  in  conference  with 
Washington,  is  said  to  have  put  his  finger  on  the  map 
at  the  point  where  the  Chicago  river  joins  Lake  Michi- 
gan as  the  key  to  the  continent  and  the  natural  site  of 
its  commercial  metropolis. 

In  1803  President  Jefferson  thought  fit,  as  part  of  an 
extended  program  of  fort  building,  to  order  the  erection 
of  a  log  fort  at  what  is  now  the  south  abutment  of  the 
Michigan  Boulevard  bridge.  The  fact  that  that  bridge 
is  said  to  carry  more  traffic  than  any  other  in  the  world 
would  seem  to  justify  Wayne's  prophecy.  The  fort  was 
named  Fort  Dearborn  in  honor  of  General  Henry 
Dearborn,  then  Secretary  of  War,  sometimes  called 
"Father  Dearborn." 

What  that  fort  meant  to  the  few  inhabitants  of  the 
Chicago  region  may  be  imagined  when  it  is  known  that 
at  the  firing  of  a  gun  by  the  Kinzies  on  the  north  side 
of  the  river,  it  was  their  only  place  of  refuge  from 
the  Indians.  An  old  lady  who  was  one  to  take  refuge 
there  in  its  Indian  days,  told  the  writer  that  sometimes, 


[4] 


1800-1837 
Mrs.  John  Kinzie,  Mrs.  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard,  Mrs.  Mark  Beaubien  and  Emily 


CHICAGO,   HER   HISTORY   AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


The 

Fort  Dearborn 

Massacre.  1812 


Wedding  Gifts 

of  the 

Empire  period 


just  for  the  fun  of  getting  the  inhabitants  together,  the 
gun  would  be  fired  when  no  Indians  were  abroad,  and 
then  they  would  have  a  grand  jollification  at  the  fort, 
which  was  their  community  center.  On  one  of  these 
occasions  a  man — mercifully  unnamed — took  refuge  in 
the  chimney,  and  when  they  built  up  a  roaring  fire,  had 
to  drop  down  in  their  midst,  a  grimy  and  chagrined 
victim  of  the  false  alarm. 

But  it  was  not  always  false  alarm.  In  the  year  181 2, 
as  Great  Britain  was  trying  to  renew  her  grip  on  * '  the 
colonies,"  the  Indians  were  incited  to  take  this  fort. 
Had  the  inhabitants  remained  inside  they  might  have 
held  out  until  reinforced,  but  through  some  ill-advised 
order,  they  marched  out,  garrison  and  all,  and  more 
than  half  were  slaughtered  on  the  lake  shore. 

A  tiny  trunk  containing  the  trousseau  and  wedding 
presents  of  Rebecca  Heald,  wife  of  the  Commandant  of 
the  fort,  seized  by  the  Indians,  was  returned  to  the 
Healds  some  years  later  by  friends  in  St.  Louis,  and  lo ! 
like  a  silver  lining  to  the  dark  cloud  through  which  they 
had  passed,  they  found  therein  their  large  soup  ladle 
and  set  of  teaspoons,  delicately  wrought  in  silver,  with 
the  "bridal  comb"  of  tortoise-shell  and  gold,  crowning 
ornament  of  the  costume  of  this  time,  which  was  really 
that  of  "The  Empire."  These  relics  are  now  displayed 
in  the  Chicago  Historical  Society,  together  with  the 
little  octagonal  breast  pin  habitually  worn  by  Mrs. 
Heald,  the  sword  of  the  Commandant,  and  the  silver 
knee  buckles  of  Captain  William  Wells,  mute  witnesses 
of  the  horrors  of  the  Fort  Dearborn  massacre  and  the 


[6] 


CHICAGO.      HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


enduring  powers  of  silver  and  gold  as  mementos  of 
historic  events. 

Rebuilt  in  1816,  Fort  Dearborn  remained  garrisoned 
until  1835. 

Those  far-flung  jewels  of  Isabella — how  their  light 
flashed  out  when,  on  the  threshold  of  a  new  century, 
with  only  the  protection  of  this  little  frontier  fort, 
John  Kinzie  brought  his  fair  young  wife  with  him  into 
this  wilderness!  A  beautiful  woman,  refined  and  intelli- 
gent enough  to  have  graced  any  circle  in  the  land, 
Eleanor  Kinzie  was  indeed  a  jewel  in  a  rough  setting. 

The  only  dwelling  house  available  for  purchase  was 
that  of  Point  du  Sable,  who,  like  the  drifting  sands  for 
which  he  was  named,  had  already  moved  on.  Kinzie 
bought  it,  with  the  four  poplar  trees  in  front  of  it,  and 
thus  became  the  Laird  of  Chicago's  traditional  manor 
house.  His  neighbors,  Le  Mai  and  Ouilmette,  with  a 
few  others,  chiefly  of  French  extraction,  were  minded  to 
take  up  landed  estates  northward,  and  thus  to  Kinzie, 
who  remained  here  until  his  death  in  1828,  belongs  the 
honor  of  being  the  first  permanent  white  resident.  A 
genial  Scotchman,  a  silversmith  and  a  fiddler,  Kinzie 
was  also  Indian  agent  and  a  fur  trader,  very  fair  in  his 
dealing  with  the  natives.  At  the  time  of  the  Fort  Dear- 
born massacre,  his  life  and  the  lives  of  his  family  were 
spared,  and  they  returned  to  their  former  dwelling  in 
1 816  and  continued  to  "hold  down  the  ground." 

This  little  mansion,  which  was  one  of  the  first  things 
a  traveler  would  see,  coming  in  at  the  river's  mouth, 


End  of 
Military  rule 

Eleanor  Kinzie 
Lady  of  the  Land 


John  Kinzie 
Laird  o'  the 
Manor,  and  first 
permanent 
resident  of 
Chicago 


Gurdon  Hubbard 
guest  at  the 
Kinzie  home  >i  818 


CHICAGO,   HER  HISTORY  AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


Enter— 
The  American 
Fur  Company 


Ingratiating 

"gew-gaws" 


Trinkets  for 
Territory 


was  a  very  hospitable  one,  so  much  so  that  it  was  some- 
times mistaken  for  an  inn,  to  the  great  amusement  of 
the  Kinzies,  who  once  boarded  an  Englishman  for  a 
week  without  his  discovering  his  mistake.  Gurdon 
Hubbard,  who,  as  a  young  lad  in  the  employ  of  the 
American  Fur  Company,  came  to  Chicago  in  1 81 8,  upon 
sitting  down  at  the  table  in  the  Kinzie  home,  was  so 
overcome  by  the  sight  of  a  lady — he  had  parted  with 
his  mother  some  months  before  and  seen  no  women 
since — that  he  burst  into  tears  and  had  to  leave  the 
table.  Only  the  exquisite  perception  and  kindness  of 
Mrs.  Kinzie  rescued  him  from  his  confusion. 

The  headquarters  of  the  American  Fur  Company  in 
the  West  were  at  Mackinaw,  and  it  was  in  "Mackinaw 
boats" — large  open  rowboats — that  Gurdon  Hubbard 
and  his  comrades  came  down  the  lake  to  Chicago  all 
through  the  twenties.  Imagine  the  stir  in  the  little 
frontier  settlement  when  "the  brigade"  would  arrive, 
singing  their  boat  songs,  and  all  oars  in  the  air  by  way 
of  salute! 

And  their  wares!  blankets  and  calico,  ribbon  and 
"gew-gaws"  for  the  Indians,  with  perhaps  some  silks 
and  laces  for  the  ladies  at  the  fort  and  thereabout. 
Speaking  of  "gew-gaws,"  how  much  of  America  do  we 
not  owe  to  the  ingratiating  influence  upon  the  savage 
breast  of,  say,  a  bangle  bracelet? 

Clad  in  her  "one-piece"  of  soft  doe-skin  with  her 
beautifully  beaded  moccasins,  the  Indian  maiden  cast 
envious  eyes  at  the  glittering  metallic  ornaments  of  the 


8 


Trunk  and  Silver  of  Rebecca  Heald 


CHICAGO 


HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


Chicago's 

center  of  barter 

and  exchange 


Eliza  Chappell 

and  "the  little 

log  schoolhouse" 


white  "squaw,"  and  what  were  a  few  square  miles  of 
prairie  land  compared  to  the  pleasure  of  gratifying 
this  desire  to  be  beautiful?  Nor  was  this  desire  confined 
to  the  female  heart.  Many  an  Indian  brave  who  had 
hitherto  felt  sufficiently  adorned  with  a  necklace  of 
bear's  claws  must  now  have  armlets  of  silver  and  brass 
and  would  trade  ofT  a  tract  of  land  for  a  set  of  little  bells 
with  which  to  trim  his  trousers. 

It  had  been  the  custom  to  meet  the  natives  at  "The 
Forks,"  where  the  north  and  south  branches  unite, 
for  this  was  the  "business  center"  in  that  day  of  barter 
and  exchange.  Then  the  brigade  would  move  on  to 
make  connections  with  their  customers  on  the  Illinois. 
Gurdon  Hubbard,  having  experienced  the  joys  of  wading 
waist-deep  through  Mud  Lake  or  going  around  by  way 
of  the  Kankakee  river,  devised  the  scheme  of  scuttling 
his  boats  in  the  South  Branch  of  the  Chicago  river,  and 
getting  his  goods  to  market  on  pack-horses.  It  is  said 
that  he  could  outwalk  or  outrun  any  Indian,  and  if 
our  infant  community  moved  at  a  rapid  rate,  it  is  per- 
haps because  it  had  "Pa-pa-ma-ta-be"  or  "The  Swift 
Walker"  as  the  pace-maker.  It  is  largely  to  him  that 
we  owe  the  setting  aside  by  the  United  States  of  lands 
for  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal  in  the  twenties. 

A  "close-up"  of  Chicago  in  about  1833  would  have 
revealed  a  village  consisting  of  one  street — South  Water 
Street — and  a  few  scattered  houses,  having  at  the  corner 
of  State  Street  a  log  schoolhouse — sacred  symbol  of 
advancing  civilization.  So  close  is  Chicago  of  the  pres- 
ent to  that  stage  of  our  progress  that  the  story  of  that 


10] 


1837-1855 

Mrs.  John  C.  Williams,  Mrs.  Nellie  Kinzie  Gordon,  Mrs.  E.  W.  Blatehford 


CHICAGO 


HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


Mark  Beaubien 

host  of 

"The  Sauganash" 


A  cruel  hoax  on  a 
gallant  officer 


schoolhouse  was  obtained  by  word  of  mouth  from  one 
of  the  pupils  who  attended  it.  That  pupil  was  Emily 
Beaubien  Lebeau,  who,  at  the  age  of  ninety,  recalled 
the  lovely  school  mistress,  Miss  Eliza  Chappell,  and 
many  of  her  little  schoolmates  who  lived  in  the  fort. 

Mark  Beaubien,  the  father  of  Emily,  came  to  Chicago 
in  1826.  Becoming  speedily  a  landed  proprietor,  he 
further  aided  and  abetted  business  by  keeping  an  hotel 
— at  first  called  "The  Eagle  Exchange,"  later  "The 
Sauganash."  From  the  windows  of  "The  Sauganash," 
Emily,  at  the  age  of  seven,  witnessed  the  paying  off  of 
the  Pottawatomie  Indians.  The  money,  silver  half- 
dollars,  in  wooden  cases,  was  piled  up  around  the  walls 
of  the  Sauganash.  General  Lewis  Cass — a  very  large 
and  pompous  man — was  in  charge,  with  his  nephew  as 
bodyguard.  Asked  if  he  was  not  afraid  the  Indians 
would  rush  in  and  take  the  money  that  night,  he  said, 
"Oh,  no,  I'm  not  afraid:  I  have  my  pistol." 

That  night  the  little  girl  and  her  mother  were  fright- 
ened by  Indians  who  came  to  the  door  and  demanded 
admittance  through  the  little  lean-to  where  the  family 
slept.  The  intruders  were  really  Robert  Kinzie  and 
some  young  white  bloods,  dressed  as  Indians.  Stealing 
into  the  General's  quarters,  they  suddenly  raised  a  war- 
cry  and  began  to  dance  about  the  room,  pounding  on 
the  boxes  with  tomahawks  and  demanding  the  money. 
At  last,  when  they  were  tired  of  dancing,  Robert  raised 
the  valance  about  the  high  bedstead,  and  there  under- 
neath was  the  brave  General,  with  his  nephew,  safe  and 
sound,  leaving  Uncle  Sam's  money  to  take  care  of  itself. 


[12 


CHICAGO 


HER   HISTORY   AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


The  next  day  a  real  war  dance  was  executed  by  the 
Indians  fearfully  arrayed  in  half-savage,  half-civilized 
garb.  The  final  payment  took  place  in  1835,  when  the 
Indians  left  their  happy  hunting  grounds  this  side  the 
Mississippi  and  went  West.  This  may  be  said  to  have 
closed  our  primitive  period  in  Chicago. 

As  entrepot  for  the  vast  movement  westward  which 
took  place  immediately  upon  the  vacating  of  the  Indian 
lands,  Chicago  set  up  a  land  office  and  became  the 
center  for  one  of  the  wildest  "land  crazes"  in  history. 
People  came  on  foot  and  on  horseback,  by  carriage  and 
covered  wagon,  by  stage  and  by  steamer.  The  Sauga- 
nash  was  so  crowded  that  the  host  bragged  of  passing 
his  blankets  from  bed  to  bed,  as  his  guests  fell  asleep 
and  new  ones  arrived.  His  rival  of  the  "Green  Tree 
Tavern,"  west  of  the  river,  after  squeezing  as  many 
people  into  one  room  as  possible,  put  the  remainder  on 
mattresses  laid  out  on  the  prairie.  "Long  John"  Went- 
worth,  a  gawky  lad,  arrived  with  his  shoes  in  his  hand 
and  his  clothes  in  a  blue  checked  handkerchief,  accord- 
ing to  Emily  Beaubien,  who  saw  him.  Emily  Twogood 
— afterwards  her  bosom  friend — came  with  her  father 
and  mother  in  an  open  barouche  all  the  way  from  New 
York  state.  Invited  to  a  party  that  night,  she  could 
with  difficulty  be  persuaded  to  climb  a  ladder  up  to  the 
loft  where  the  ladies'  dressing-room  was  located  and  put 
on  her  pink  satin  dress.  Such  was  the  cordiality  of  the 
people,  however,  that  she  soon  was  dancing  with  the 
merriest,  afterwards  married  one  of  "those  people"  and 
lived  on  the  site  of  Marshall  Field's  store  at  State  and 
Washington  Streets. 


The  Indians 
go  West 


Chicago  doing 
"a  land  office 
business" 


13 


CHICAGO 


HER   HISTORY   AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


Bonnets  and  the 
brig  Illinois ', 1835 


Breast  pins  and 

corporate  life 

begin,  1837 


The  Prophet  of 

the  House  of 

Peacock 


But  we  are  getting  ahead  of  our  story.  A  mutual 
friend  of  the  two  Emily's,  Fernando  Jones — or  "Fer- 
nandy",  as  they  called  him — came  with  his  father  on 
the  brig  Illinois  in  the  year  1835.  For  many  years  he 
was  our  favorite  "oldest  inhabitant,"  able  to  confirm 
land  titles  from  the  ground  up  and  by  memory  alone. 
Abram  Gale  and  his  wife — the  latter  a  stylish  milliner 
from  New  York — arrived  on  the  same  steamer.  Think 
of  the  bonnets  that  she  must  have  had  stowed  in  the 
hold!  Meeting  a  man  of  lofty  stature  and  serene  coun- 
tenance in  the  big  warehouse  where  they  were  ushered 
on  landing,  they  asked  who  he  was,  and  he  proved  to 
be  Gurdon  Hubbard,  who  by  that  time  was  the  owner 
of  the  warehouse  and  a  permanent  resident  of  Chicago. 

It  is  said  that  the  best  way  of  establishing  the  era  of 
civilization  represented  by  finds  in  ancient  Rome  is 
by  noting  the  kind  of  "fibulae"  or  safety  pins  found 
along  with  them.  These,  having  been  thoroughly 
classed,  serve  to  indicate  the  antiquity  of  the  undated 
finds.  If  so,  then  the  period  at  which  Chicago  passed 
from  semi-savage  conditions  to  "the  civilization  and 
refinement  of  the  provinces"  might  be  determined  by 
the  fact  that  in  1837  breast  pins  and  watches  could  be 
bought  at  a  certain  little  frame  building  at  No.  155^ 
Lake  Street,  where  Elijah  Peacock — a  man  of  some- 
what similar  mold  to  that  of  Chicago's  first  mayor, 
William  B.  Ogden — had  established  his  jewelry  store  in 
the  very  year  that  Chicago  was  incorporated  as  a  city. 

"Elijah  Peacock"  (wrote  E.  O.  Gale  in  1902,  in  his 
"Reminiscences  of  Early  Chicago")  "came  here  in  1837 

[141 


Observing  the  Coffee  rite  in  the  'jo's 


CHICAGO 


HER  HISTORY  AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


Early  utensils 

afforded  the 

housewife 


Watches  increase 
efficiency 


Records  a 
Roll  of  Fame 


and  engaged  in  his  trade  of  jewelry  and  watch  re- 
pairer, a  calling  that  had  already  descended  through 
three  generations,  following  the  English  custom,  and 
which  his  son  Charles  (C.  D.),  who  was  born  in  1838, 
and  who  has  been  one  of  our  leading  men  in  that  line, 
tells  me  will  be  continued  indefinitely,  as  his  mantle  is 
slipping  from  his  shoulders  onto  his  sons." 

Now,  of  course,  there  were  other  things  than  jewelry 
needed  in  this  new  country,  and  one  can  picture  the 
pleasures  of  the  housewife,  torn  away  from  the  comforts 
of  the  old  homestead  down  East,  at  being  enabled, 
through  the  House  of  Peacock,  to  set  her  table  with  a 
Sheratonian  tea  service  or  a  Boardman  coffee  set,  not  to 
mention  the  soup  toureens,  hot-water  dishes,  ewers, 
basins,  trays  and  candlesticks  needed  throughout  the 
home. 

Men's  watches  at  this  time  were  largely  imported 
from  Europe,  and  Chicago's  efficiency  must  have  been 
quickened  not  a  little  by  the  ability  on  the  part  of  "the 
man  in  the  street"  to  produce  from  his  waistcoat  one  of 
these  neat  gold  or  silver  case  time  pieces  rather  than 
wait  to  know  the  time  until  he  could  refer  to  the  "grand- 
father's clock"  that  stood  in  the  hall  at  home. 

From  that  time  on,  the  record  books  of  the  House  of 
Peacock  became  a  veritable  "Who's  Who"  of  Chicago 
in  all  her  different  stages  of  city-hood.  The  following 
are  only  a  few  of  the  notable  names  of  the  early  day 
that  appear  on  their  pages:  Augustus  Harris  Burley, 
founder  of  the  famous  glass  and  china  house;  Philo 


16 


CHICAGO,   HER   HISTORY   AND   HER   ADORNMENT 

Carpenter  and  Silas  Cobb — eligible  bachelors  of  the 
thirties — who  bought  wedding  rings  for  the  beautiful 
Warren  twins,  and  afterwards  held  down  considerable 
ground  on  the  West  Side;  Arthur  Dixon,  whose  heavy- 
hoisting  machinery  literally  pulled  Chicago  out  of  the 
mud;  John  B.  Drake,  host  of  the  Tremont  House 
(whose  sons  "carry  on"  at  the  Drake  and  the  Black- 
stone);  "Long  John"  Wentworth,  who,  as  representa- 
tive in  Congress,  helped  to  carry  the  fame  of  Chicago 
to  the  world  at  large;  Cyrus  H.  McCormick,  inventor 
of  the  Reaper,  and  George  M.  Pullman,  inventor  of  the 
Sleeping  Car;  Potter  Palmer  and  succeeding  merchant 
princes,  Marshall  Field  and  L.  Z.  Leiter 

But  there,  we  are  getting  ahead  of  our  story  again,  The  Panic  °f  '37 
and  must  come  back  to  Chicago  of  the  '3o's.  The  in- 
rush of  investors  in  land — at  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  an 
acre — caused  everybody  who  had  a  dollar  and  a  quarter 
to  lay  it  out  in  land,  and  the  country  became  "land 
poor."  Front  footage  finally  sold  for  ?ioo  during  this 
time,  but  "paper  town"  property  that  never  existed 
was  also  sold,  and  fortunes  that  had  been  made  were 
lost.   The  panic  of  'yj  ensued. 

Stability  and  permanence — these  were  the  qualities  Stability  restored 
that  Chicago  most  needed  at  this  time,  and  for  these  upon  character 
the  founder  of  the  House  of  Peacock  and  his  successors 
have  stood  throughout  her  somewhat  stormy  career. 
It  is  such  men  as  Elijah  Peacock  and  William  B.  Ogden, 
of  whom  the  words  of  Burns  are  true,  "The  man's  the 
gowd  for  a'  that." 

[17  1 


CHICAGO,  HER   HISTORY   AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


The  tide  of  trade 
rolls  onward 


The  passing  of 

primitive 

agriculture  and 

transportation 


The  Reaper  and 
the  Railroad 


Period  of  the  Forties 

The  growth  of  Chicago's  business  district  in  the  '40's 
is  indicated  by  the  fact  that,  whereas  in  1843  Peacock's 
jewelry  store  had  moved  from  155^  to  195  Lake  Street, 
by  1849  it  was  found  at  199  Randolph  Street,  a  sure 
sign  that  thither  the  tide  of  trade  had  turned. 

While  this  noting  of  the  movement  of  the  business 
district,  and  of  Peacock's  with  it,  may  seem  dry  detail 
of  interest  to  the  statistician  only,  if  one  read  between 
the  lines,  it  will  be  understood  how  vital  to  the  young 
recruit  among  cities  was  the  maintenance  of  taste  in 
dress  and  adornment  to  keep  pace  with  her  overwhelm- 
ing advance  in  other  directions.  To  understand  what 
is  meant,  one  need  only  remember  that  between  these 
two  dates,  1 843-1 849,  the  Chicago  region  round  about 
had  passed  out  of  the  era  of  primitive  agriculture  and 
stage  coach  transportation  only,  into  that  of  "the  iron 
horse"  and  "mechanical  man,"  otherwise  of  railroads 
and  reapers. 

On  the  very  site  where  stood  Chicago's  first  home- 
stead, the  du  Sable  and  Kinzie  cabin,  in  1845  was 
erected  the  great  McCormick  Reaper  factory — the 
reaper  that  was  to  revolutionize  agriculture  throughout 
the  world.  Cyrus  H.  McCormick,  having  secured  his 
patents,  chose  Chicago  as  his  base  of  operations,  and 
entered  into  partnership  with  William  B.  Ogden,  who 
at  that  time  was  earnestly  working  for  railroads  to  re- 
place plank  roads.  By  1848  there  were  ten  miles  of 
railroad,  leading  from  the  factory  on  Kinzie  Street  out 


18 


Emily  Beaubien—A  Debutante  of  the  \ 


40  s 


CHICAGO 


HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


Chicago's 
first  theater 


Chignons  and 
sapphires 


Hamlet  and 
Othello 


Concerts  and 
Curios 


over  the  prairie  to  Des  Plaines,  nucleus  of  the  North- 
western Railroad  system.  Thus  was  the  "mechanical 
man*'  met  by  "the  iron  horse,"  and  the  development 
of  the  great  West  begun. 


Progress  was  not  all  mechanical,  however.  On  June 
28,  1847,  John  B.  Rice's  theater — a  frame  building 
forty  by  eighty  feet — was  opened  at  the  corner  of 
Dearborn  and  Randolph  Streets;  Dan  Marble  was  the 
star,  and  the  Journal  of  July  1  observes.  "We  notice 
a  large  number  of  ladies — the  beauty  and  fashion  of  the 
city — in  nightly  attendance." 

Blessed  be  "the  beauty  and  fashion  of  the  city"!  In 
an  era  when  the  minds  of  men  were  engrossed  with 
rival  reapers,  "colossal  railroad  mergers,"  or  "the  iron 
horse  vs.  the  stage  coach"  was  it  not  well  to  let  the 
fancy  rest  for  a  while,  not  only  on  Shakespeare  but  on 
chignons  caught  up  with  jet  ornaments,  or  fair  necks 
encircled  with  garnets  or  sapphires? 

In  August  of  that  year  appeared  John  E.  Murdoch 
in  "Hamlet,"  and  in  May  James  H.  McVicker;  Edwin 
Forest  following  in  June  in  "Othello,"  and  Junius 
Brutus  Booth  in  the  heavier  Shakespearian  roles  in 
September.  The  question  is,  could  we  put  on  a  better 
dramatic  season  nowadays? 

Counter  attractions  were  concerts  at  the  Saloon 
Building  (not  what  its  name  implies),  General  Tom 
Thumb  at  the  Court  House,  and  David  Kennison,  aged 
112,  the  last  survivor  of  the  Boston  Tea  Party  at  Moon- 
ey's  Museum,  73  Lake  Street. 


[20] 


CHICAGO 


HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


Brilliant  social  events  in  Chicago  of  the  ^o's  took 
place  quite  frequently  at  the  Lake  House,  at  Rush 
Street  and  the  river.  Here  it  was  that  Emily  Beaubien, 
by  that  time  a  young  lady,  made  her  debut.  At  ninety 
she  recalled  the  scene.  She  said  that  she  was  blue-eyed 
and  blonde,  her  hair  done  in  ringlets,  with  a  wreath  of 
roses  around  it,  and  that  her  dress  was  low-necked  and 
sleeveless,  with  a  full  skirt  ruffled  from  waist  to  hem. 
As  she  entered  the  room,  the  center  of  all  eyes,  her  first 
impression  was  of  a  dazzling  blaze  of  light.  It  seems 
that  the  management  had  placed  around  the  walls, 
wooden  brackets  from  which  flashed,  as  she  put  it,  "a 
myriad  of  candles."  At  first  her  head  swam,  and  she 
closed  her  eyes;  then — and  here  she  exhibited  her  good 
Chicago  common  sense — she  steadied  herself  with  the 
thought,  "What  a  dreadful  waste  of  candles." 

Chicago  and  Milwaukee  first  got  into  telegraphic 
communication  on  January  15,  1848,  and  by  April  6 
Chicago  had  received  her  first  through  message  from 
the  East.  Imagine  the  state  of  mind  of  a  people  whose 
mail  matter  had  been  anywhere  from  a  week  to  a  month 
in  reaching  them  from  New  York,  finding  that  they 
could  "outrun  the  wind"  with  words!  The  Chicago 
Board  of  Trade  held  its  first  meeting  in  April,  1848,  and 
at  its  first  annual  meeting  in  1849,  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  confer  with  the  telegraphic  companies  on  the 
possibilities  of  daily  market  reports. 

In  the  year  1849  the  "California  fever"  began  to  rage 
in  Chicago.  The  makers  of  covered  wagons  worked  over- 
time.  Revolvers  went  up  fifty  per  cent  in  price,  Mack- 


A  debutante  of 
the  '40's 


First  telegram  and 
founding  of 
Board  of  Trade 


When  "West 
became  "East" 


21 


CHICAGO.   HER   HISTORY   AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


Outdoing  Noah 
and  the  Ark 


inaw  blankets  were  literally  "out  of  sight,"  and  salt 
provisions  "lamentably  scarce. "  The  first  two  expedi- 
tions were  fitted  out  and  started  March  29,  1849,  and 
from  that  time  on  many  names  of  early  citizens  dis- 
appeared from  the  annals  of  Chicago  to  reappear  in 
those  of  California.  In  other  words  we  had  done  our 
bit  in  "opening  up  the  West/'  and  we  were  now  "The 
East"  to  those  folks! 

To  top  off  with,  and  just  to  keep  things  going,  in 
1849,  Chicago  had  a  flood  in  which  the  river  tried  to 
engulf  the  land,  cast  great  ships  high  up  our  shore,  and 
did  a  deal  of  damage  apparently,  but  which,  in  reality, 
only  served  to  make  our  name  more  widely  known  as 
the  city  that  "never  did  things  by  halves,"  and  the 
people  who,  standing  with  one  foot  in  the  water  and 
one  on  land,  succeeded  in  "holding  down  the  ground" 
and  forming  as  it  were  a  living  island  of  refuge  between 
the  two  oceans. 


The  Fifties 

Trains,  trestles  Another  link  was  added  to  the  Queen's  necklace  bind- 
and  artillery  jng  us  t0  the  Atlantic  seaboard  when,  in  1852,  trains  of 
the  Illinois  Central  and  the  Michigan  Central  railroads 
began  to  come  in  at  the  former's  depot  at  Randolph 
Street,  while  the  first  through  trains  over  a  trunk  line 
were  entering  the  city  via  the  Michigan  Southern  and 
were  greeted  with  a  salvo  of  artillery.  The  tracks  of  the 
Illinois  Central,  being  laid  on  a  trestle  out  in  the  lake 
as  they  entered  the  city,  visitors  arriving  in  rough 
weather  were  apt  to  be  greeted  with  an  involuntary  bath. 

[22  1 


1855-1865 

Mrs  Abraham  Lincoln,  Mrs.  Robert  W.  Patterson,  Mrs.  N.  H.  Brown,  Mrs.  Edwin  Booth 


CHICAGO,  HER  HISTORY  AND  HER  ADORNMENT 

All  aboard  jor  The  first  direct  clearance  by  boat  from  Chicago  for 
Liverpool!  Europe  was  made  by  the  steamer  Dean  Richmond  in 
1856,  carrying  a  load  of  grain  for  Liverpool.  A  noted 
arrival  of  July  14,  1857,  from  Liverpool  was  the  Ma- 
deira Pet,  which  entered  the  Chicago  River  and 
anchored  at  the  North  pier.  At  that  time  it  is  said  that 
Chicago's  harbor  was  like  a  forest  for  the  masts  of 
vessels  and  our  lake  tonnage  was  enormous. 

Patti  and  Meanwhile,  what  of  the  "refinements  of  the  prov- 
Ole  Bull  inces?"  Well,  we  had  our  first  opera  season  in  1850, 
at  Rice's  theater,  with  Manvers,  Lippert  and  Brienti  as 
stars.  The  piece  for  the  opening  night  was  "La  Sonam- 
bula,"  and  everything  was  going  along  peacefully, 
when,  as  the  curtain  was  rising  on  the  second  set,  the 
place  took  fire  and  burned  to  the  ground.  That  was  a 
trifle  discouraging,  but  by  1853  we  had  Adelina  Patti 
and  Ole  Bull  in  Tremont  Music  Hall,  with  tickets  at 
one  and  two  dollars,  to  be  very  metropolitan. 

Jewelry  Jewelry  was,  of  course,  in  great  demand.  The  fact 
keeps  pace  tjiat  ^  f|ouse  0f  peacock  had  moved  from  Lake  Street 
to  larger  quarters  on  Randolph  at  number  205,  where  it 
remained  from  1 854  to  1 859,  when  it  again  moved  south- 
ward, shows  the  trend  of  trade,  as  well  as  the  progress 
of  our  people  in  the  amenities  of  life. 

What  they  wore  There  was  nothing  random  about  "the  amenities"  in 
the  fifties.  A  "man  of  standing"  was  expected  to  have 
three  golden  studs  down  his  shirt  front,  a  large  watch 
fob,  and  a  gold-headed  cane.  His  wife  must  wear  some- 
thing "neat  but  not  gaudy"  in  the  way  of  a  brooch  to 


24 


CHICAGO 


HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


fasten  a  bit  of  lace  about  her  throat  in  the  daytime 
(with  earrings  to  match),  and  a  "cluster"  of  pearls  or 
diamonds  at  her  breast  in  the  evening.  Where  there 
had  been  a  death  in  the  family  she  might  substitute  jet 
or  a  breast  pin  and  earrings  made  of  the  hair  of  the 
departed,  mounted  in  gold,  and  sometimes  set  round 
with  pearls. 

The  year  1857  marks  the  entrance  of  a  new  era  in 
Chicago,  the  era  of  strong  political  feeling,  when 
theatrical  performances  were  preceded  by  the  singing  of 
"The  Star  Spangled  Banner,"  and  speakers  were 
mobbed  that  were  giving  voice  to  pro-slavery  senti- 
ments. "The  Little  Giant,"  long  a  popular  idol,  had 
been  forced  from  the  platform  in  '54  for  his  compromise 
measures,  and  "Long  John"  Wentworth,  a  Republican- 
Fusionist,  was  elected  Mayor  of  Chicago  on  an  Abolish- 
ionist  ticket. 

One  of  the  popular  diversions  of  "Long  John" — who 
was  nearly  seven  feet  in  height  and  wore  a  tall  "stove- 
pipe" hat — was  to  stand  on  the  steps  of  the  Court  House 
and  harangue  the  Chicago  Light  Artillery.  Others  did 
their  speechifying  in  the  newly  erected  Bryan's  Hall  or 
McVicker's  theater,  with  an  occasional  solo  from  Jules 
or  Frank  Lumbard  by  way  of  stimulus.  Great  enthusi- 
asm was  evoked  by  the  evolutions  of  the  Ellsworth 
Zouaves,  a  unique  Chicago  organization  under  Elmer 
E.  Ellsworth.  They  used  to  perform  in  front  of  the 
Tremont  House  and  in  1859  toured  the  country  with 
tremendous  success.  Little  did  they  think  that  their 
skill  in  bayonet  practice  and  in  scaling  walls  and  the  like 


The  war  cloud 
begins  to  lower 


"Long  John"  and 
the  Ellsworth 
Zouaves 


25 


CHICAGO,   HER   HISTORY   AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


The  Lincoln- 
Douglas  debates 


Lincoln 

nominated  for 

President^  i860 


Chicago  in  the 
war  for  the  Union 


athletic   exercise   was   one   day   to   make   them   drill 
masters  for  the  United  States  Army. 

From  a  balcony  of  the  Tremont  House  in  1858,  took 
place  the  speeches  preliminary  to  the  Lincoln-Douglas 
debates,  those  debates  which  were  to  change  the  fate  of 
the  country  from  disintegration  to  a  closer  bond  of 
union. 

The  Sixties 

The  great  event  of  the  '6o's — probably  the  greatest 
of  our  history  thus  far — was  the  nomination  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  for  President  of  the  United  States,  the  nomina- 
tion taking  place  in  "The  Wigwam,"  a  large  frame 
building  on  the  site  of  the  old  Sauganash  Hotel  at  Lake 
and  Market  Streets. 

When  it  came  to  Lincoln's  inauguration,  it  was  young 
Ellsworth  of  Chicago,  by  that  time  a  student  in  his  law 
office,  who  accompanied  him  to  Washington  as  his  body- 
guard. It  was  young  Ellsworth  of  Chicago  who,  at  the 
head  of  the  New  York  Fire  Zouaves,  which  he  organ- 
ized, was  the  first  officer  killed  in  the  Civil  War,  falling 
in  a  gallant  attempt  to  haul  down  a  rebel  flag  in  Alexan- 
dria. It  was  a  regiment  from  Chicago  that  began  the 
first  official  action  of  the  Civil  War,  at  Cairo,  111.,  key 
to  the  control  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers. 
Chicago  furnished  more  than  its  quota  of  troops  and 
did  its  bit,  as  might  have  been  expected.  Women  were 
called  into  prominence  as  nurses — among  them 
"Mother  Bickerdyke" — their  efforts  supported  by  the 
Northwest  Sanitary  Commission,  of  which  Mary  A. 


26 


1865-1875 

Mrs.  George  Manierre,  Mrs.  Sidney  Sawyer,  Mrs.  John  Dean  Caton 


CHICAGO,   HER   HISTORY   AND   H  E  R   ADORNMENT 


Pullman  Sleepers 

and  Chicago 

streets 


The  World's 
meat  supply 


Crosby's 

Opera  House  and 

its  audience 


Livermore  of  Chicago  was  head,  and  by  such  means  as 
the  Sanitary  Fair  of  1865. 

Two  events  of  unique  importance  followed  the  close 
of  the  war  in  Chicago — the  first  selling  of  berths  in  his 
newly  invented  sleeping  cars  by  George  M.  Pullman,  in 
April,  1865,  incident  to  the  arrangements  for  attending 
the  Lincoln  funeral  at  Springfield;  and  the  undertaking 
by  the  same  gentleman  of  the  contract  for  straightening 
up  Chicago  streets,  which  hitherto  had  been  on  many 
different  levels,  necessitating  little  flights  of  steps  at 
frequent  intervals. 

Another  event  which  might  be  said  to  be  of  world  im- 
portance, was  the  opening  of  the  Union  Stockyards  in 
Halsted  Street  on  June  1,  1865.  All  the  railroads  enter- 
ing Chicago  made  connections  with  the  stockyards,  and 
hence  it  might  be  said  that  the  world  was  nearer  to  its 
meat  supply  than  ever  before. 

In  the  realm  of  the  amenities  of  life,  was  the  opening 
of  the  Crosby  Opera  House  on  Washington  Street,  near 
State,  on  the  evening  of  April  20,  1865.  Colonel  Crosby 
had  spent  a  fortune  on  the  house,  which  was  built,  in 
the  popular  phrase,  "regardless  of  expense."  They  say 
that  the  interior,  all  white  and  gold,  with  superbly  fitted 
boxes — and  the  beau  monde  of  the  time,  in  all  the  ele- 
gance of  decollete  and  diamonds,  elaborate  coiffures  and 
fans  or  hand-bouquets,  on  the  part  of  the  ladies,  yellow 
kid  gloves,  a  tight-waisted  dress  coat,  a  curl  on  the  fore- 
head and  "Monet"  or  Dundreary  whiskers  for  the 
men — would  awaken  envy  in  the  heart  of  any  manager 


28 


fSSSS/SS   ,  . 


An  Opera  group  of  the  'do's 


CHICAGO 


HER   HISTORY   AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


of  today.  The  chief  singer  was  Clara  Louise  Kellogg, 
and  the  opera  //  Trovatore. 

Oysters  and         ^j^  appropr}ate  place  for  after-the-opera  suppers  was 

chicken  salad       ,r.      ,      ,  ,  .   n  r  \      r\ 

Kinsley  s  restaurant,  on  the  ground  floor  of  the  Opera 
House,  and  old  Chicagoans  will  tell  you  that  never  were 
refreshments  more  recherche  or  head  waiter  more  high 
and  mighty  than  at  Kinsley's. 

Pearls  and         The  appropriate  place  to  purchase  the  jewelry  to 

diamonds     grace  tne  occasion  was  Peacock's,  and  whether  it  were 

a  rope  of  pearls  for  the  hair  or  a  spray  of  diamonds  for 

the  corsage,  the  proper  thing  was  always  forthcoming. 

That  entertainment  was  not  all  painfully  "highbrow" 
in  the  sixties,  is  to  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  a  little 
lady  by  the  name  of  "Lotta"  having  won  the  hearts  of 
the  Nevada  mining  camps,  took  Chicago  by  storm  with 
The  Seven  Sisters,  Little  Nell,  Topsy,  Musette,  and  Bob. 
How  much  people  loved  her  piquante  but  ever  lady- 
like personality,  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that 
when,  in  1891,  Miss  Charlotte  Crabtree  of  Boston  re- 
tired, she  was  worth  a  cool  $2,000,000. 


Chicago  a  second 
Paris  in  the  '70's 


The  Seventies 

The  general  aspect  of  Chicago  in  1 870  is  said  to  have 
been  not  unlike  that  of  Paris,  with  many  buildings  of 
moderate  and  graceful  proportions,  built  of  light  colored 
stone — Lamont  marble  in  our  case — and  topped  off 
with  mansard  roofs  or  fancy  cornices.  This  with  respect 
to  the  business  center.  As  to  the  residence  portion,  we 
had  several  very  notable  "blocks"  of  houses,  the  hand- 


CHICAGO,   HER   HISTORY   AND   HER   ADORNMENT 

somest  of  which  was  "Terrace  Row"  on  the  Lake  Front. 
It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  "merciless  grandeur"  of  these 
"marble  fronts"  had  obscured  our  recollection  of  the 
humbler  frame  houses — relic  of  rapid  advance  from  the 
pioneer  period — on  the  West  Side  and  even  in  the  heart 
of  the  city. 

At  all  events,  on  the  evening  of  October  8,  1 871,  when  The  Great 
ladies  in  silken  train  dresses  and  gentlemen  in  broad-  onPa&ra  l0n 
cloth  coats  were  returning  from  church,  an  alarm  of  fire 
was  turned  in  at  Bruno  Gall's  drug  store  on  the  West 
Side.  Nobody  thought  much  about  it.  There  had  been 
a  fire  the  night  before.  The  firemen  were  worn  out, 
and  besides  there  was  some  mistake  in  the  first  signals, 
so  that  much  time  was  lost.  The  consequence  was  that 
by  the  time  the  first  stream  of  water  was  turned  on  to 
the  little  barn  in  De  Koven  Street,  near  Jefferson,  the 
fire  had  its  head.  The  wind  was  very  high,  following  a 
drouth  of  weeks,  and  the  frame  shanties  of  that  part  of 
town  were  like  tinder.  Moreover  they  led  directly  to 
extensive  lumber  yards  that  lay  along  the  river. 

To  make  a  long  story  short,  a  cow — by  whom  an-  Story  °f 
noyed,  history  hesitates  to  say — kicked  over  a  lamp  in 
that  little  barn.  The  barn  burned  and  lighted  the  region 
of  the  lumber  yards.  The  lumber  yards,  aided  by  the 
high  wind,  threw  some  burning  brands  across  the  river 
at  Adams  Street  where  there  was  a  gas  tank.  The  gas 
tank  exploded,  putting  out  the  lights  downtown  and 
kindling  the  financial  district  and  the  Court  House. 
The  Court  House  gave  off  some  sparks  which  were  de- 
posited by  the  wind  on  the  Waterworks.    The  Water- 

[311 


CHICAGO 


HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


'''Marble  fronts" 
that  melted 


A  blackened 
desert 


Rise  of  the 
Chicago  Spirit 


Jewelry  and 
bank  vaults  intact 


works  burned,  cutting  off  the  city's  water  supply.  And 
so  on,  just  as  if  it  had  been  planned. 

Growing  stronger  with  every  instant,  the  blast  from 
the  fire  was  like  a  blowpipe,  before  which  "marble 
fronts"  melted  like  wax,  and  wood  crumpled  like  paper. 

By  Monday  night  almost  every  one  within  the  limits 
of  Chicago  proper  was  without  a  home,  and  where  a 
city  had  been  there  was  a  blackened  desert. 

That  Chicago  was  something  more  than  wood,  brick 
or  stone  was  the  great  fact  proved  by  the  fire  of  '71.  It 
was  perhaps  worth  while  to  let  everything  burn  up  to 
find  this  out.  What  before  had  been  a  somewhat  un- 
related accumulation  of  peoples  from  all  parts  of  the 
country  and  Europe,  deposited  layer  on  layer  by  suc- 
cessive waves  of  immigration,  was  now  fused  together 
and  welded  into  a  unit.  The  fellowship  engendered  by 
the  common  disaster,  gratitude  for  the  generosity  of 
the  world  at  large,  melted  men's  hearts  and  there  arose, 
not  a  wan  wraith,  but  something  very  substantial  and 
indomitable — the  Chicago  Spirit. 

Reconstruction  followed  as  if  by  magic.  The  first 
building  to  go  up  in  the  still  smoking  ruins,  was  Ker- 
foot's  real  estate  office  with  its  buoyant  signboard,  "All 
gone  but  wife,  children  and  ENERGY!"  Peacock's, 
which  had  been  at  221  Randolph  Street,  was  supposed 
to  have  lost  everything,  when,  standing  like  an  altar 
among  the  hot  embers,  was  found  the  jewelry  vault, 
intact.    Bank  vaults  were  likewise  found  secure,  and 


32 


CHICAGO,      HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


bankers,  even  before  they  opened  them,  decided  to  pay- 
dollar  for  dollar  to  their  depositors. 

A  lady's  watch-chain  in  the  seventies  often  measured 
a  yard  or  two  in  length,  while  a  gentleman's — what  with 
the  little  projections  for  the  key,  and  sundry  "charms" 
to  dangle  therefrom — was  rather  formidable  when  it 
came  to  storing  or  even  carrying  it  about.  As  for  the 
family  silver — well,  if  not  stored  in  the  vault,  it  had  to 
be  buried  under  ground  at  the  time  of  the  fire. 

The  House  of  Peacock,  phoenix-like,  flew  over  to  96 
West  Madison  Street,  after  the  fire,  before  watches  and 
clocks  had  time  to  run  down,  one  might  say,  and  by 
1873  was  found  "holding  down  the  ground"  at  State 
and  Washington  Streets. 

This  was  typical  of  what  went  on  throughout  the 
business  district,  and  moreover,  Chicago,  the  inventor 
of  "balloon-frame"  architecture,  became  the  inventor 
of  the  structural  iron  skeleton  with  stone,  brick,  con- 
crete or  tile  facing,  known  the  world  over  as  "Chicago 
construction"  and  the  foundation  framework  of  "sky- 
scrapers." One  such  fireproof  building  existed  before 
the  fire,  the  Nixon  Building.  It  stood  the  test,  and  a 
portion  of  it  is  built  into  the  fireplace  of  the  Chicago 
Historical  Society,  in  everlasting  remembrance. 

The  most  evident  mark  of  Chicago's  being  on  her  feet 
after  the  great  fire,  was  the  erection,  in  1873,  of  a  big 
building  on  the  Lake  Front  known  as  "the  Exposition 
Building."  It  was  for  interstate  purposes,  and  a  gallant 
sight  it  was,  when  with  flags  flying  from  many  masts 


Cumbersome 
"'Charms" 


Flight  of  the 
House  of  Peacock 


Chicago  invents 
structural  iron 


The  old  Exposi- 
tion Building, 
1873 


33 


CHICAGO 


HER   HISTORY   AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


Thomas' Orchestra 
and  the  "World's 
Greatest  Market" 


The  Age  of 

Electricity  with 

Chicago  in  the 

lead 


Telephones  and 
cable  cars 


above  it,  a  giant  fountain  crashing  inside,  bands  playing, 
jets  of  perfume  flowing,  and  free  refreshments  on  every 
hand,  it  invited  all  the  world  and  his  family  to  visit 
Chicago. 

Our  first  annual  art  exhibit  and  our  first  May  festival 
of  music  took  place  there,  with  the  Thomas  Orchestra 
and  W.  L.  Tomlins'  big  chorus.  Later  Patti  and  the 
Metropolitan  Opera  came,  and  exhibits  of  agricultural 
implements,  corn  and  wheat,  dry  goods,  furs  and  jewelry 
demonstrated  what  the  Middle  West  was  up  to.  As 
Chicago  was  the  middle  of  the  Middle  West,  it  did  not 
take  her  many  years  to  build  up  her  reputation  as 
"The  world's  greatest  market"  for  corn,  hogs,  lumber, 
furniture,  clothing  and  most  of  the  other  necessities  of 
man. 

The  Eighties 

How  Queen  Isabella  would  have  laughed  with  delight 
could  she  have  seen  the  electric  lights  begin  to  shine 
out  in  Chicago  in  the  eighties!  In  1880,  there  was  a 
50-light  dynamo  in  the  basement  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
Building.  The  first  theater  in  the  world  to  use  incan- 
descent lamps  was  the  Academy  of  Music  on  Halsted 
Street,  and  the  first  theater  to  be  completely  lighted 
with  electricity  was  Haverly's  on  Monroe  Street.  It  is 
said  that  the  audience  rose  and  cheered  for  fifteen 
minutes  when  the  lights  flashed  on  for  the  first  time. 

As  for  telephones,  they  began  to  tinkle  in  Chicago  in 
1 881,  and  we  immediately  began  to  think  about  talking 
with  Australia.  Cable  trains  began  to  rattle  in  the  year 


[34 


CHICAGO 


HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


Derby  Day 


Fashion  notes 


Home  decorating 


Various  divines 
and  opera  boujje 


Those  doors  and 
how  we  got  them 


1882,  and  we  realized  that  with  a  dynamo  strong  enough 
we  could  start  for  the  moon. 

Notwithstanding  these  modernisms,  Chicago  still 
stuck  to  horseflesh  for  its  fashionable  means  of  propul- 
sion. Derby  Day  at  Washington  Park  was  magnificent 
with  four-in-hands,  and  milady's  daily  drive  in  barouches 
or  Victorias,  was  a  sight  to  charm  the  beholder. 

"Bangs  and  bangles"  were  the  order  of  the  day  among 
debutantes;  "toothpick"  shoes,  tight  trousers,  and  high 
bicycles,  among  the  so-called  "dudes;"  bonnets  and 
mantillas  among  the  mamas;  and  massive  seal  rings 
among  the  "men  of  means"  in  the  '8o's. 

Home  decorating,  in  which  Peacock's  always  strive 
to  assist,  included  often  a  bronze  group  or  a  bronze 
clock  and  a  pair  of  vases  for  the  mantel-piece,  and  we 
passed  insensibly  out  of  the  "Early  Victorian"  into  the 
era  of  Eastlake  and  Oscar  Wilde. 

As  for  "elevating  influences,"  there  were  some  of  the 
best  preachers  ever  put  out  of  the  church,  preaching 
from  the  platforms  of  various  theaters  on  Sunday — not 
to  mention  those  in  the  pulpits.  Then  there  were  the 
"Divine  Sara,"  Ellen  Terry,  Henry  Irving  and  Lawrence 
Barrett  on  week  day  nights.  As  for  the  "tired  business 
man,"  he  was  borne  upwards  on  the  wings  of  "opera 
bouffe,"  to  the  tunes  of  The  Pirates  of  Penzance,  Pina- 
fore and  Patience. 

The  Nineties 

At  the  outset  of  this  narrative,  we  mentioned  the 


[36 


1875-1890 

Mrs.  Henry  Farnham>  Mrs.  John  V.  Farwell,  Mrs.  William  Daggett 


CHICAGO,  HER  HISTORY  AND  HER  ADORNMENT 


Concept  of  the 
World's  Fair 


Chicago  the  heir 
of  the  ages 


World's 
Congresses 


doors  of  the  house  of  Columbus's  father-in-law  as  being 
in  Chicago.  Now,  they  were  not  exactly  cast  up  by  the 
sea  at  this  spot.  It  took  considerable  fishing,  not  to 
say  dragging,  to  get  them. 

As  far  back  as  1 885,  a  group  of  Chicago  business  men, 
directors  of  the  Chicago  Interstate  Exposition,  resolved 
"That  a  great  world's  fair  should  be  held  in  Chicago 
in  1 892,  the  four-hundredth  anniversary  of  the  landing 
of  Columbus  in  America."  Four  years  later  the  World's 
Exposition  Company  was  organized,  by  Chicago  people, 
with  a  capital  stock  of  $5,000,000,  and  by  1890,  Senator 
Shelby  M.  Cullom  of  Illinois  introduced  a  bill  in 
Congress  providing  for  the  holding  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition.  He  forgot  to  mention  that  it 
was  to  be  held  in  Chicago.  Consequently  New  York, 
Washington,  and  even  St.  Louis  came  horning  in,  and 
we  had  the  tussle  of  our  lives,  but  we  won.  In  print,  we 
said  that  ''Central  location,  superior  transportation, 
and  capitalization  awarded  us  the  World's  Fair  of 
1893."   Privately,  we  knew  it  was  the  Chicago  Spirit. 

However  that  may  be,  Chicago  proved  herself  "the 
heir  of  the  ages,"  the  true  America,  by  the  magnificent 
manner  in  which  she  gave  back  to  Columbus  and  Isa- 
bella the  enterprise  and  the  generosity  which  they  so 
lavishly  expended  in  discovering  us,  plus  all  the  marvels 
of  the  modern  world. 

In  the  great  congresses  of  science,  religion  and  art 
with  which  the  Fair  was  inaugurated  was  Columbus 
lauded,  because  he  had  made  practical  use  of  the  ut- 


38 


CHICAGO,   HER   HISTORY   AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


most  knowledge  of  his  time,  and  by  the  unprecedented 
prominence  given  to  women  was  Isabella  crowned  again. 

By  Mrs.  Potter  Palmer,  the  beautiful  Bertha  Honore 
of  French-Southern  extraction,  much  traveled,  expe- 
rienced in  society,  and  the  wife  of  one  of  Chicago's 
"princes  among  men,"  together  with  Mrs.  Ellen  M. 
Henrotin,  inaugurator  of  Federation  among  women's 
clubs  in  America,  wife  of  the  former  Minister  to  Bel- 
gium, and  epitome  of  womanly  graciousness,  must  the 
Board  of  Lady  Managers  be  typified.  It  were  impos- 
sible even  to  mention  by  name  the  truly  royal  group  of 
women  who  officiated.  Working  shoulder  to  shoulder 
with  the  men,  yet  independent  in  their  own  sphere,  a 
result  was  achieved  which  inaugurated  a  new  era. 

Contrasting  the  outward  aspect  of  the  women  of  the 
World's  Fair  era  with  those  of  the  previous  periods  of 
Chicago's  history,  it  may  be  said  that  it  was  the  triumph 
of  the  tailor-made.  It  is  doubtful  if  the  great  results 
achieved  by  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers  would  have 
ensued  in  the  time  allotted  had  they  not  adopted  what 
has  been  called  "the  American  uniform,"  a  tailored 
coat,  skirt  and  shirt-waist  for  business  occasions.  On 
the  other  hand  they  transcended  the  wisdom  of  mere 
man  in  that  they  did  not  insist  on  wearing  their  uni- 
forms in  the  evening.  For  festive  occasions,  they  donned 
a  sheath-like  armor  of  silk,  satin  or  velvet,  with  abun- 
dant sleeves,  clasped  round  their  throats  the  queen's 
necklace  of  pearls,  and  placed  on  their  brows  the  Amer- 
ican woman's  rightful  sign  of  empire,  the  diamond  tiara! 

[391 


American  Queen 


Tailor-mades 
and  tiaras 


CHICAGO 


HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


The  Court  of 
Honor 


Chicago  meets  the 
World  Midway 


Jewels  from  afar 


A  phantom  of 
"The  Fair" 


"The  City 
Beautiful" 


The  Court  of  Honor  at  the  Columbian  Exposition, 
with  its  palace-lined  lagoons  and  its  peristyle  through 
which  flashed  the  waters  of  the  inland  sea,  has  never 
been  surpassed  for  beauty  of  conception  in  any  age. 

The  Midway,  with  its  Streets  of  Cairo,  its  Ferris 
Wheel,  its  Dahomey  Village  and  its  Old  Vienna — its 
unceasing  stream  of  mankind  from  every  nation  under 
heaven — perhaps  came  nearer  to  proving  the  human 
race  "of  one  mind"  than  any  institution  since  the  Ark. 
The  world  had  come  from  far,  and  we  had  met  them 
midway ! 

Jewelry  exhibits  at  the  Fair  included  everything  from 
"L'art  nouveau"  of  France  with  its  semi-naturalistic 
treatment  of  flower-forms  to  the  conventionalized  types 
of  the  Orient  with  their  barbaric  splendor  of  design  and 
poor  materials.  Neither  style  appealed  strongly  to 
American  taste. 

The  idea  of  the  Fair  as  a  whole  lingered  in  the  sup- 
posedly unromantic  minds  of  Chicago  people  and  would 
not  be  downed.  Its  loveliness,  its  "festive"  quality  had 
taken  possession  of  us.  Daniel  Burnham,  the  great 
architect  of  the  Fair,  gave  expression  to  this  when,  in 
1894,  he  made  a  drawing  in  which  the  scene  of  enchant- 
ment was  transferred  from  Jackson  Park  and  made  to 
extend  all  along  the  edge  of  the  lake  to  the  city  proper. 
This  idea  was  indulged  in  at  certain  club  dinners,  as  a 
thing  to  dream  about — a  thing  to  wish  for — but — 

Well,  at  any  rate  it  was  given  a  name,  if  not  a  local 

[40] 


1890-1900 

Mrs.  W.  W.  Kimball^  Mrs.  Charles  M.  Henrotin,  Mrs.  Potter  Palmer  I 


CHICAGO,   HER  HISTORY  AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


Substantial 
progress 


Chicago  shops  on 
State  Street  again 


The  Chicago  Plan 


habitation,  and  the  name  by  which  it  was  then  known 
was  "The  City  Beautiful." 

Meanwhile  certain  substantial  changes  were  transpir- 
ing in  the  center  of  town,  evidenced  conspicuously  by 
the  fact  that  in  1894,  tne  House  of  Peacock  left  the 
region  of  State  and  Washington  Streets  and  was  found, 
where  it  still  remains,  at  State  and  Adams,  "holding 
down  the  ground"  in  the  cause  of  beauty  and  better- 
ment. 

Although  we  have  been  so  far  away  from  every-day 
affairs  as  to  make  this  statement  something  of  an  anti- 
climax, it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  panic  of  '93 
succeeded  the  exposition  of  that  year.  Only  by  the 
stability  of  the  banks  of  the  better  class  and  of  the  great 
mercantile  houses  was  Chicago  kept  on  her  feet.  Not 
only  that;  it  was  something  to  learn,  when  all  was  said 
and  done,  that,  at  the  point  of  purchasing  an  article  of 
adornment  of  considerable  cost,  the  Chicagoan  really 
preferred,  as  against  the  whole  glittering  array  at  the 
Fair,  to  buy  with  the  conservative  advice  of  an  honest 
house  known  "from  the  ground  up"  as  we  say.  And  so, 
when  it  was  all  over,  and,  firm  on  her  two  feet  again, 
Chicago  was  able  to  walk  down  State  Street,  it  was  re- 
assuring, after  having  shopped  at  Marshall  Field's  for 
her  new  frock,  to  step  into  the  spacious  aisles  of  Pea- 
cock's at  State  and  Adams  to  buy  her  a  new  tiara. 

The  Twentieth  Century 

It  was  reserved  for  the  twentieth  century  to  bring  to 
fruition  the  plan — reminiscent  of  the  Columbian  Expo- 

[42  1 


1900-1920 
Mrs.  Ella  Flagg  Young,  Mrs  Cyrus  H.  McCormick  II,  Mrs.  James  M.  Flower 


CHICAGO 


HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


The  Commercial 

and  Merchants 

Clubs  brothers 


Association  of 
Commerce  aids 


Chicago  means 
business 


'On  the  Square" 

and 

"Above  board'* 


sition,  but  going  into  the  deeper,  broader  phases  of 
city-building — which  was  originally  called  "The  City 
Beautiful"  but  which  is  now  being  put  into  practical 
execution  as  "The  Chicago  Plan." 

"Credit  for  first  giving  publicity  to  this  idea,"  writes 
Mr.  Charles  Wacker,  "is  due  to  Mr.  Franklin  McVeagh, 
Secretary  of  the  National  Treasury,  who  in  1901  sug- 
gested it  to  the  Commercial  Club  of  Chicago.  At  almost 
the  same  time  the  Merchants  Club  of  Chicago  became 
interested  in  the  subject  through  Mr.  Charles  D. 
Norton,  its  president,  and  Mr.  Frederic  A.  Delano. 
Work  on  the  plan  was  formally  undertaken  by  this  club 
in  1903,  and  was  under  way  when  the  two  clubs  merged 
in  1907  under  the  name  of  the  former." 

Mention  should  also  be  made  of  the  organization  of 
the  Association  of  Commerce  in  1902,  because,  in  ad- 
dition to  its  great  endeavors  in  other  directions,  it 
has  distinctly  aided  in  keeping  before  the  public  the 
objects  of  this  Plan. 

And  right  here  is  something  peculiarly  creditable  to 
Chicago  as  a  whole.  Mr.  Charles  H.  Wacker,  who  was 
vice-chairman  of  the  Commercial  Club's  Plan  Commit- 
tee in  1907,  became  its  chairman  in  1909,  resigning  that 
office  to  become  chairman  of  the  Chicago  Plan  Com- 
mission, an  integral  part  of  Chicago's  government.  Mr. 
James  H.  Simpson  succeeded  him  in  1926. 

The  essence  of  the  Chicago  Plan  seems  to  conform  in 
a  way  to  "the  city  that  lieth  four-square"  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, brought  down  to  earth  and  made  practical.    It 


44 


CHICAGO,      HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


consists,  first  of  all,  of  a  quadrangle  of  improved 
thoroughfares  formed  by  Twelfth  Street  or  Roosevelt 
Road  on  the  south,  Halsted  Street  on  the  west,  Chicago 
Avenue  on  the  north  and  Michigan  Boulevard  on  the 
east,  all  designed  for  the  freer  movement  of  traffic 
through  the  city.  Widening  and  grading  their  way  out 
from  this  quadrangle  the  workers  are  crossing  the  river 
at  various  points  with  double-deck  bridges,  further  fa- 
cilitating traffic.  Double-decking  South  Water  Street 
will  make  of  the  old  river-front,  where  Fort  Dearborn 
stood,  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world,  where,  instead 
of  a  produce  market  reeking  with  odors,  and  crammed 
with  drays,  will  be  a  promenade  and  a  thoroughfare, 
worthy  of  our  "Riviera." 

As  for  the  Lake  Front,  our  dreams  are  being  realized 
in  the  form  of  a  park  of  1700  acres,  including  lagoons, 
islands  and  outer  drives  of  ideal  beauty,  with  bathing 
beaches  having  a  capacity  of  200,000  people  daily.  In 
connection  with  this,  a  new  commercial  harbor  is  con- 
templated, making  us  in  actuality  the  world  port  which 
we  are  potentially  now.  The  great  Stadium  near  the 
Field  Museum,  and  the  new  Illinois  Central  Depot  at 
the  point  of  erection,  are  earnest  of  the  scale  upon  which 
improvements  are  to  be  made. 

Farther  west,  the  magnificent  pile  of  the  Union  Sta- 
tion, with  the  Northwestern  near  by,  seem  like  fantastic 
dreams  when  we  think  of  their  small  beginnings  which 
we  have  just  learned;  but  they  are  very  real,  diurnally 
proving  Chicago's  position  as  the  railway  center  of  the 
continent,  where  so  short  a  time  before  were  only  the 


The  Lake  Front 
transfigured 


Palatial  Depots 
vs.  Pioneer  Trails 


45 


CHICAGO 


HER   HISTORY   AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


Underground  and 
overhead  projects 


Patou  proclaims 
the  new  champion 


The  Chicago 

woman  a  warrior 

in  a  "one-piece" 


noiseless  footsteps  of  the  pioneers  along  the  Indian 
trails. 

Subways,  the  zoning  of  the  city  to  prevent  congestion, 
the  development  of  commercial  and  domestic  commu- 
nity centers,  the  extension  of  airplane  mail  service,  of  the 
wireless  telephone,  the  realization  of  all  the  powers  of 
radio  communication  and  ever  and  always  the  educa- 
tion of  the  young,  besides  making  the  Chicago  Civic 
Opera  pay,  are  matters  in  hand  and  in  mind. 

But  how  and  by  whom  are  all  these  things  to  be  ac- 
complished? Will  Chicago  men  alone — already  bur- 
dened with  business — be  able  to  do  it  all?  When  the 
warriors  of  olden  time  were  going  forth  to  battle,  we 
are  told  they  "kilted  up"  their  tunics  and  set  their 
helmets  firmly  on  their  heads.  M.  Jean  Patou  of 
Paris — who  by  the  way  recently  came  to  Chicago  to 
study  the  American  woman — is  of  the  opinion  that  the 
present  day  short  skirt  and  bobbed  hair  are  really  a 
preparation  for  her  task — a  freeing  of  her  limbs  and 
a  shaking  off  of  "the  languid  coiffure,,  for  her  life  of 
active  transition  from  one  thing  to  another. 

When  the  Chicago  woman,  therefore,  buckles  on  her 
short  "wrap-around"  and  crams  her  cloche  hat  down 
over  her  cropped  hair,  she  is  really  a  warrior  in  disguise, 
getting  ready  for  battle,  a  fair  warrior  who  does  not 
forget  to  bedazzle  the  enemy  by  a  pair  of  pretty  ear- 
drops and  a  necklace  or  two.  And  the  men  folk  are 
beginning  to  think  "not  a  bad  ally  to  have,"  when,  in 
the  face  of  difficulties,  it  needs  a  flash  of  the  Chicago 


46 


CHICAGO,   HER   HISTORY   AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


Spirit  to  put  the  foe  to  flight  or  open  up  new  avenues 
of  interest. 

Some  tendency  has  been  shown  on  the  part  of  Eastern 
cities  to  lampoon  the  Chicago  Spirit,  and,  under  the 
title  of  "Miss  Chicago"  Judge  recently  paid  us  the 
envious  compliment  of  representing  her  on  October  9, 
Chicago  Day,  as  a  prodigious  female,  clad  in  bulky 
armor,  striding  down  the  street,  amid  a  hail  of  bullets 
to  which  she  was  so  much  accustomed  that  she  did  not 
even  dodge  them. 

Chicago  is  not  accustomed  to  dodging  anything— not 
even  the  slings  and  darts  of  sectional  prejudice.  She 
looks  right  through  it,  goes  on  doing  her  day's  work, 
handling  the  wildcat  crime  with  a  mailed  fist,  but  classi- 
fying these  busy  bees  of  rumor  as  did  our  ancestors  of 
Civil  War  days  "The  Bloody  Tooth  of  the  Rappa- 
hannock." 

Symbolical  of  the  real  Chicago  Spirit — and  something 
which  doubtless  did  stir  New  York,  was  the  announce- 
ment, just  at  the  time  Judge  launched  that  cartoon, 
that  State  Street  in  Chicago  was  going  to  become  the 
most  brilliantly  lighted  street  in  the  world,  not  excepting 
Broadway.  The  merchants  of  State  Street — with  the 
aid  of  womankind — had  just  closed  a  $450,000,000  year 
of  business,  and  signalized  the  fact  by  holding  a  three- 
days'  festival,  October  14  to  16,  1926,  at  which  were 
inaugurated,  as  a  permanent  feature,  tall  graceful 
torcheries,  bearing  each  two  lights  emitting  2000  "lum- 
ens" apiece — while,  as  a  temporary  decoration,  were 
erected   Venetian    masts    of  victory,    floating   many- 


Invidious 
Disparagement 


Chicago  not 
afraid  of 
phantoms 


State  Street 
presents  Chicago 
a  Garment  of 
Light 


47 


CHICAGO 


HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


From  Dusk  to 

Dawn — 

a  Reverie 

of  our 

Growth 
in  terms  of 

Light 


colored  pennants  and  festooned  with  garlands  of  oak 
leaves.  When  President  Coolidge  in  Washington  made 
the  electrical  connection,  the  street  became  starry, 
colors,  before  invisible,  came  out  like  flowers  blossom- 
ing, while  through  the  thoroughfare— cleared  of  its 
vehicles — unmolested  and  unafraid,  streamed  the  men, 
women  and  children  of  the  happiest  people  on  earth. 

Looking  out  upon  the  scene  from  an  upper  window, 
thought  would  revert  to  those  duskier  days,  when  the 
campfire  of  the  Indian  and  the  flambeaux  of  the  French 
were  the  only  illumination,  or  later,  when  a  lantern 
from  Fort  Dearborn  served  to  light  the  way  across  the 
footlog  that  bridged  the  State  Street  of  that  time;  or 
when,  in  the  thirties,  early  candle  light  in  cottages 
guided  the  wayfarer  at  State  and  Washington,  or  coal 
oil  lamps  made  what  Dickens  called  "a  ruddy  smear" 
about  the  old  State  Street  market  in  the  forties;  or  gas 
lamps  cast  a  greenish  glare  around  the  marble  yard 
that  graced  Field's  corner  in  the  fifties,  enhanced  the 
metropolitan  atmosphere  of  State  and  Madison,  where, 
in  the  sixties  stood  Saddleback  Smith's  Oyster  House, 
or  even  lured  the  venturesome  down  to  Dexter  Graves' 
Riding  Gallery  at  State  and  Adams.  And  then  the 
sudden  darkness  that  followed  the  explosion  of  the  gas 
tank  in  the  fire  of  '71,  followed  by  that  frightful  wall 
of  fire  driving  the  people  before  it  and  leaving  in  its 
wake  naught  but  "chaos  and  old  night."  But  no! 
What  is  that  white  star  blazing  high  up  against  the 
sky  at  State  and  Monroe,  and  what  is  that  sound  of 
activity?  Why,  they  are  re-building  the  Palmer  House, 


[48 


CHICAGO,      HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


working  day  and  night,  to  afford  the  people  shelter, 
illumined  by  the  first  arc  light  ever  used  in  Chicago! 

Electricity\  Awaking  with  a  start  from  her  reverie  of 
the  past,  Chicago  rubbed  her  eyes  and  beheld,  rosy  and 
smiling  in  its  new  dress  of  red  brick  and  kindly  white 
light,  still  another  Palmer  House — the  dear  old  Palmer 
House  reborn,  so  to  speak,  opening  its  hospitable  doors 
at  the  same  old  corner  of  State  and  Monroe  where  it  had 
stood  in  the  days  of  our  grandfathers,  and  where  we 
trust  it  will  stand  for  another  fifty  years  at  least,  at  once 
an  ancient  landmark  and  a  monument  of  our  present 
stage  of  civilization. 

Now  even  a  city  celebrating  a  jesta  will  get  hungry, 
and  Chicago  slipped  in  and  looked  about  to  see  if  she 
could  find  any  suitable  place  for  a  lady  unattended  to 
eat.  Skirting  the  lobby — which  goes  back  to  the  time 
of  Adam — not  to  mention  Eve — she  ascended  a  short 
flight  of  stairs  and  beheld  Queen  Victoria  in  high  con- 
verse with  Admiral  Perry  and  other  personages  with 
whom  she  was  not  personally  acquainted,  and  withdrew 
until  such  time  as  she  should  be  en  grande  tenue.  Catch- 
ing an  elevator  she  ascended  several  floors  and  found  her- 
self in  the  Red  Lacquer  Room — sacred  to  Queen  Anne — 
and  the  grand  ball  room — savoring  of  Napoleon — but 
there  was  nothing  festive  there  that  evening,  although  a 
major  domo  showed  her  the  silver-lined  kitchens  adjoin- 
ing, in  case  of  a  banquet. 

Seeking  the  floor  devoted  to  ladies,  she  asked  a  few 
questions  of  the  discreet  chaperone  at  the  desk,  fur- 
bished herself  up  a  bit,  and  descended  to  a  room  which 


Re-birth  of  the 
Palmer  House 


From  Adam  to 
Napoleon  and 
back 


Chicago  at  home 
in  "The  Chicago 
Room' 


49 


CHICAGO 


HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


Enter  the  House 
of  Peacock 


The  right  thing  at 
the  right  time 


Dedication  of 
W acker  Drive 


she  found  had  been  designed  in  her  honor,  decorated 
with  skyscrapers,  and  designated  as  "The  Chicago 
Room."  Here,  with  a  proper  accompaniment  of  soft 
damask  and  fine  silver,  she  dined,  attended  upon  by  a 
grey-haired  butler  who  watched  with  delight  her  appre- 
ciation of  the  viands,  and  helped  her  recall  the  atmos- 
phere of  our  fathers*  time,  when,  at  this  hour,  ladies  in 
long  train  dresses  would  have  been  giving  the  last 
touches  to  their  back  hair,  and  trying  to  decide  which 
locket  to  wear,  while  their  husbands  would  either  be 
having  their  full  beards  trimmed  in  the  barber  shop, 
with  its  pavement  of  silver  dollars,  or  twirling  their  fobs 
in  the  lobby  as  they  consulted  their  large  gold  watches 
on  the  flight  of  time. 

As  Chicago  of  the  present  came  to  the  surface  level 
again,  if  there  wasn't  a  row  of  lockets — or  rather  di- 
amond sautoirs — dangling  before  her  eyes  over  an  an- 
nouncement that  henceforth  this  southeast  corner  of 
State  and  Monroe  Streets  would  be  sacred  to  the  House 
of  Peacock! 

Why  of  course — but  how  perfectly  in  the  picture — 
that  this  jewelry  house,  as  old  as  Chicago's  corporate 
self — and  much  older  if  one  considers  their  forebears  in 
England — should  be  found  settling  down  in  the  new-old 
Palmer  House,  ready  with  the  right  thing  at  the  right 
time  to  help  Chicago  do  herself  justice  on  a  gala  occa- 
sion! 

The  next  week,  with  imposing  ceremonies,  Chicago 
dedicated  Wacker  Drive,  replacing  old  South  Water 


50 


CHICAGO 


HER   HISTORY   AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


Street,  and  affording  an  outlet  from  the  "loop"  for  seven 
great  north-  and  south-bound  streets,  with  a  lower  level 
at  which  ships  may  dock  and  trucks  be  transferred  from 
depot  to  depot,  while  on  its  upper  level  roll  vehicles  of 
the  more  elegant  variety,  and  promenade  the  fortunate 
people  of  this  metropolis  as  did  Dante  and  Beatrice  of 
old  along  the  Arno.  The  completion  of  this  great  double- 
decked  boulevard  along  the  waterway  is  regarded  by 
engineers  as  the  most  important  development  of  its  kind 
in  the  world,  while  from  an  aesthetic  viewpoint  it  is  at 
once  the  proof  and  promise  of  the  vast  advantages  of 
the  Chicago  Plan. 


Some  cities  at  this  point  would  have  mounted  the 
pedestal  at  the  junction  of  State  Street  and  Wacker 
Drive,  struck  a  pose,  and  fallen  asleep  for  a  hundred 
years,  a  la  Sleeping  Beauty.  Chicago,  on  the  contrary, 
gave  some  swift  orders  for  the  embellishment  of  the 
northern  bank  of  the  river,  in  keeping  with  the  Wrigley 
Building  and  the  Tribune  Tower,  then,  with  a  right- 
about movement,  began  the  straightening  of  the  South 
Branch,  and,  as  if  it  were  a  matter  of  everyday  occur- 
rence, donned  her  best  diadem,  and  received  the  Queen 
of  Roumania. 


Chicago  receives 
right  royally 


Chicago  must  have  done  fairly  well  on  this  occasion — 
all  New  York  presswork  to  the  contrary  notwithstand- 
ing— for  when  Queen  Marie  was  leaving,  in  her  remarks 
over  the  radio,  which  all  the  world  might  hear,  she  de- 
clared us  without  exception  "the  most  beautiful  of 
American  cities." 


[51 


As  one  queen  to 
another 


CHICAGO 


HER   HISTORY   AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


Soldiers'  Field 
dedicated 


Everybody  happy 


"Where  do  we  go 
from  here?" 


Our  Chief  of 
Opera 


Now  the  Chicago  people  have  had  reason  to  realize 
that  beauty  consists  not  entirely  of  monuments  of  brick, 
stone  and  cement.  The  act  of  acknowledging  services 
rendered  is  one  of  the  most  gracious  things  a  city  or  a 
sovereign  can  do.  Some  perception  of  this  caused  Chi- 
cago, when  it  came  time  to  complete  the  great  stadium 
on  the  Lake  Front,  to  dedicate  it,  not  to  her  own  honor 
and  glory,  nor  even  to  those  who  planned  and  built  it, 
but  to  the  Chicago  youth  who  gave  up  their  rights  of 
civic  distinction  for  the  American  principle  of  self- 
determination  versus  imperialism.  She  called  it  "Sol- 
diers' Field,"  and  it  was  consecrated  to  the  purpose  of 
youthful  recreation  and  upbuilding,  by  the  Army  and 
Navy  of  the  United  States  as  represented  by  West 
Point  and  Annapolis. 

It  was  a  grand  game  in  the  midst  of  snow  and  ice  at 
Thanksgiving  time,  and  resulted  in  a  tie,  so  that  all 
concerned  were  happy  as  they  adjourned  to  the  banquet 
and  the  ball. 

But  not  everybody  is  fond  of  football— or  war  either, 
for  that  matter.  What,  in  the  name  of  civilization,  is 
to  be  done  for  "the  general"  to  whom,  in  Hamlet's 
phrase,  these  diversions  are  as  "caviar?" 

Chicago  has  other  resources. 

For  instance — and  we  are  speaking  now  not  to  the 
owners  of  boxes,  but  to  the  great  Chicago  public — "the 
general,"  if  you  please,  what  man  in  the  street  would 
not  like  to  drop  in  at  a  certain  well-known  Chicago 
hotel — as  any  Chicagoan  may — and  behold  with  his 


52 


CHICAGO 


HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


own  eyes,  seated  at  a  little  round  table,  like  King 
Arthur  with  his  knights,  Maestro  Giorgio  Polacco,  Con- 
ductor-in-Chief  of  the  Opera,  discussing  its  affairs  with 
the  other  conductors? 

"A  cat  may  look  at  a  king,"  the  saying  goes,  but  this 
particular  king  is  so  unaffectedly  genial  and  approach- 
able that  one  need  not  have  the  audacity  of  Puss-in- 
Boots  in  the  story,  to  speak  to  him,  as  to  any  other  real 
Chicagoan,  in  the  interest  of  our  great  common  treasure 
and  high-water  mark  of  civilization,  the  Chicago  Civic 
Opera.  After  all,  Puss-in-Boots  was  an  ambassador  for 
no  mean  person,  the  Marquis  de  Carabas,  and  if,  as  in 
this  instance,  the  Marquis  de  Carabas  were  a  thin  dis- 
guise for  Chicago  Herself,  desiring  to  do  honor  to  the 
representative  of  the  Realm  of  Music — 

But  this  sounds  like  generalities,  whereas  Puss-in- 
Boots  did  really  pay  his  respects  to  Polacco,  as  well  as 
to  Madame  Mason,  his  wife,  to  Muzio,  Raisa  and 
Rimini — also  to  Ansseau,  Montesanto  and  Mojica  and 
through  them  to  all  the  others  of  this  royal  court. 
As  for  that  apparently  haughty  Princess  who  had 
withdrawn  herself  to  her  own  castle  on  the  North  Shore, 
he  was  honored  with  a  conference,  and  is  privileged  to 
say  that  Mary  Garden,  being  a  Chicagoan  at  heart  and 
by  right  of  pre-emption,  understood  and  commended 
Puss-in-Boot's  efforts  to  domesticate  the  others. 

Speaking  of  princesses,  Chicago,  while  drinking  in  the 
atmosphere  of  Paris  of  the  Thirties,  Florence  of  the 
Quattro  Cento,  or  Russia  of  the  present,  was  apprised 


Chicago  in  the 
role  of  Marquis 
de  Carabas 


Puss-in-Boots 
bows  to  real 
personages 


Passing  of  our 
last  Indian 
Princess 


53 


CHICAGO,      HER      HISTORY      AND      HER      ADORNMENT 


What  next? 


Samuel  Insull 
and  his  plan 


that  during  the  final  week  of  the  opera  there  passed 
away  on  the  Desplaines  river  reservation  granted  to  her 
father,  Mary,  daughter  of  Alexander  Robinson,  chief  of 
the  Pottawatomies,  Ottawas  and  Chippewas  of  Fort 
Dearborn  days — the  last  Indian  princess  of  the  Chicago 
region.  So  closely  has  civilization  trodden  on  the  heels 
of  the  primeval  in  our  marvellous  city. 

The  question  naturally  arises,  what  shall  we  do  for 
local  color  now  that  we  can  no  longer  call  ourselves  an 
Indian  village? 

Strolling  in  a  meditative  way  over  to  the  Forks  of  the 
river,  where,  by  the  way,  Chief  Robinson  lived  before 
the  city  was  incorporated,  Chicago  paused,  where  once 
the  Indian  tepees  stood,  and  behold,  she  found  there  a 
man  of  the  larger  mold  with  a  plan  in  his  head— a 
chief  among  men,  such  as  Chicago  breeds — and  on  the 
occasion  of  the  gala  performance  of  the  opera,  she  heard 
him  outline  the  plan.  It  was,  in  Chicago  language,  the 
proposition  to  adopt,  in  place  of  Poor  Lo,  Polacco  and 
his  tribe,  under  the  title  of  the  Chicago  Civic  Opera, 
and,  in  order  to  make  them  less  nomadic,  to  give  them 
a  lodge  for  themselves,  with  room  to  spare,  and  an  in- 
come. 


Distinguished 
precedent 


After  all,  it  might  not  be  bad  business.  The  place 
designated  would  correspond  to  the  Lung  Arno  in 
Florence,  and  hasn't  Florence  played  quite  a  conspicu- 
ous part  in  the  world's  arts,  in  spite  of  having  been 
financially  promoted  by  the  merchantmen  of  her  time? 

1541 


CHICAGO 


HER   HISTORY   AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


About  this  time  it  was  announced  that  Prof.  James 
H.  Breasted  of  the  University  of  Chicago— chronicler 
of  King  Tut's  tomb  and  other  monumenta  of  civiliza- 
tion—had brought  home  to  Chicago  a  fine  trophy  in  the 
shape  of  a  breastplate  originally  owned  by  an  Egyptian 
king  and  by  him  presented  to  a  king  of  Palestine  a  good 
many  hundred  years  before  Moses.  The  breastplate  is 
exquisitely  wrought  in  gold,  and  represents  the  Egyp- 
tian king  being  suckled  by  the  cow-goddess — a  bit  of  fair 
play  on  the  part  of  the  king  in  acknowledging  his  in- 
debtedness not  only  to  the  pastoral  people  from  whom 
he  sprang,  but  to  something  outside  and  above  them 
all,  Providence. 

Chicago,  while  experiencing  a  sense  of  elation  at  the 
possession  of  this  new  ornament — indicative  of  her  being 
"the  heir  of  the  ages" — would  feel  a  certain  hesitancy 
in  wearing  it.   To  every  age  its  heirlooms! 

Feeling,  however,  that  her  own  age  has  as  much  right 
as  any  other  to  a  respectable  heirloom,  and  being  a 
little  tired  of  the  cow  as  a  motif— encumbered  as  in  her 
case  with  the  awkward  legend  of  the  lamp — behold  Miss 
Chicago,  daintily  attired  in  the  latest  mode,  tripping 
down  State  Street,  on  the  way  to  the  goldsmith's. 

Pausing  before  the  portal  of  the  oldest  mercantile 
house  in  Chicago — a  new  portal,  by  the  way,  won- 
drously  wrought  in  bronze,  and  leading  to  an  interior 
worthy  the  honor  about  to  be  conferred — she  summoned 
an  artificer  in  the  precious  metals,  and  bade  him  prepare 
for  her  an  heirloom. 


The  "latest  thing 
in  breastplates 


Chicago,  the  heir 
of  the  ages 


Chicago  goes  to 
the  Goldsmith's 


Orders  an 
Heirloom 


[55 


CHICAGO 


HER   HISTORY   AND   HER   ADORNMENT 


Leave  something 

for  posterity  to 

puzzle  out 


Chicago's  cosmic 
concept  of  Herself 


Now  just  what  form  Chicago's  final  heirloom  may 
take,  and  just  what  its  device  may  be,  is  not  for  us  to 
know.  Something  must  be  left  for  future  ages  to  accom- 
plish and  the  Breasteds  of  the  next  millennium  to 
decipher  if  they  can. 

But  in  closing  this  little  chronicle  of  "Chicago,  her 
History  and  her  Adornment,"  it  is  only  fair  to  divulge 
that  the  concept  conveyed  to  the  aforesaid  artificer,  as 
representing  Present-Day  Chicago's  acknowledgment 
of  indebtedness  to  the  past  and  plans  for  the  future 
may  be  shown  in  the  guise  of  this  tail-piece,  modestly 
typical  of  her  industries  and  her  arts,  and  epitomizing 
her  rightful  place  in  the  General  Plan. 

Mabel  McIlvaine. 


Jupiter  and  Juno  join  in  our  emblem 


Taurus,  the  Bull — one  of  the 
aspects  of  Jupiter — typifying 
pioneer  worthy  masculine 
strength ,  and  the  sign  of  the 
Suns  progress  through  the  stars. 


The  Peacock— emblem  of  Juno, 
goddess  of  heaven,  daughter  of 
Khronos,  god  of  Time,  typifying 
the  myriad  aspects  of  beauty  and 
the  ability  to  keep  abreast  of  the 
times. 


56 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

CHICAG018HER  HISTORY  AND  HER  ADORNMENT  C 


3  0112  025384931 


